A Record Lookup

Instantly look up a domain's A records with our free A record checker - see its IPv4 addresses, TTL values, hosting/CDN provider, and DNS configuration, and catch common misconfigurations before they cause problems.

How to Use the A Record Lookup

Running an A record lookup takes seconds. Follow these four steps to check your IPv4 records and spot any misconfigurations.

Enter a domain. Type your root domain (e.g. example.com) or any subdomain - A records can exist at any level of a zone.

Select a DNS resolver. Choose your preferred DNS resolver - Google, Cloudflare, OpenDNS, or Quad9.

Click "Look up". Hit the button or press Enter to run the A record lookup instantly.

Review your results. See every IPv4 address, its TTL, public/private status, and the full best-practice check breakdown.

What the A Record Results Mean

Understanding your results helps you confirm where your domain points and catch problems early.

IPv4 address(es)

The public IPv4 address (or addresses) your domain resolves to right now, pulled from a live DNS query - this is what browsers connect to.

TTL (Time to Live)

How long (in seconds) resolvers cache the record.

Lower TTL means faster propagation. Higher TTL means fewer queries but slower updates.

Public vs private

We flag whether each returned IP is publicly routable or a private/reserved range - a private IP on a public-facing domain is a common misconfiguration.

What Is an A Record?

An A record (Address record) is the DNS record type that maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. It answers the most basic question in DNS: "what server does this domain point to?" Without a valid A record, a hostname simply won't resolve for IPv4 clients.

Domain → IPv4

An A record points a hostname at a 32-bit IPv4 address such as 192.0.2.10. It's the most fundamental record in DNS.

Required to resolve

When someone visits your domain, their device looks up the A record to find the IP to connect to. No A (or AAAA) record means the hostname won't resolve.

Multiple allowed

A hostname can have several A records pointing to different IPs. Resolvers rotate through them (round-robin) for load balancing and redundancy.

yourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 192.0.2.10

A Record vs Other Record Types

A records are often confused with a few related record types. Here's how they differ.

Maps a domain to an IPv4 address

The standard record for pointing a domain or subdomain at a server using a 32-bit IPv4 address, e.g. 192.0.2.10.

AAAA

Maps a domain to an IPv6 address

The IPv6 equivalent of an A record, used for the newer, much larger address space (e.g. 2606:4700:4700::1111).

CNAME

Maps a domain to another domain name

Points to another hostname rather than an IP directly - that hostname is then resolved via its own A or AAAA record. A name can't have both a CNAME and an A record at the same time.

PTR

Maps an IP address back to a domain

The reverse of an A record - used for reverse DNS lookups, commonly checked by mail servers to verify sender legitimacy.

Common A Record Issues and How to Fix Them

Most A-record problems fall into four categories. Here's what each means and how to resolve it.

No A record

No IPv4 address published

The hostname has no A record, so it won't resolve for anyone relying on IPv4 - it may only have an AAAA/CNAME record, or not exist at all.

Add an A record at your DNS host pointing the hostname to your server's public IPv4 address.

Private / reserved IP

Points to an unreachable range

The record points to a private (e.g. 192.168.x.x) or reserved range that isn't reachable from the public internet - usually a mistake on a public-facing domain.

Point the A record to a publicly routable IP address assigned by your host.

Duplicate IPs

Same IP listed more than once

The same IP address appears more than once in the record set. This adds no benefit and usually indicates a copy-paste error.

Remove the duplicate entries so each IP appears only once.

Unusual TTL

TTL too low or too high

A very low TTL increases DNS query load; a very high TTL slows how fast future changes propagate to resolvers.

Use around 3600s for most records; temporarily lower it to 300s before a planned migration.

Multiple A Records and Load Balancing

It's completely normal - and common for high-traffic sites - to see more than one A record for the same hostname. When multiple IPs are returned, resolvers rotate through them (round-robin DNS), spreading traffic across several servers without dedicated load-balancer hardware. It's a low-cost way to distribute load and add basic failover, though it doesn't provide the real-time health checking a dedicated load balancer does. If you see multiple A records you didn't expect, confirm with whoever manages your infrastructure - stale IPs left over from a migration can also appear here.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between an A record and a CNAME?

An A record points a domain directly to an IPv4 address. A CNAME points a domain to another domain name, which is then resolved separately. A hostname can have an A record or a CNAME, but never both at the same time.

Is my domain data sent to your servers?

The domain you enter is sent to our server, which runs the DNS lookup for you against the public resolver you pick (Google, Cloudflare, OpenDNS, or Quad9) - the same query anyone could run with a dig command. We don't log or store the domains you check or the records returned.

Why does my A record show a different IP than my hosting provider gave me?

This is usually a propagation delay - DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to fully update everywhere, depending on the TTL of the previous record. If it's a CDN or proxy service (like Cloudflare), you may also see the provider's proxy IP rather than your origin server's real IP by design.

Can a subdomain have its own A record?

Yes. Any hostname - root domain or subdomain - can have its own independent A record pointing to a different server. This is how you might run yourdomain.com and app.yourdomain.com on completely different infrastructure.

What TTL should I use for an A record?

For most sites, 3600 seconds (1 hour) is a reasonable default. If you're planning a migration soon, temporarily lowering it to 300s (5 minutes) beforehand lets you cut over faster with less downtime, since cached records expire sooner.

Does an A record affect email deliverability?

Indirectly. Mail servers are addressed via MX records, not A records - but if your mail server's hostname (referenced by its MX record) doesn't have a matching, working A record, or if it lacks a matching PTR record for reverse DNS, mail delivery can fail or get flagged as suspicious.

Why do I see a Cloudflare or proxy IP instead of my real server?

This is expected behavior when a domain is proxied through a CDN or security service. The public A record intentionally points to the provider's edge network rather than your origin server, which stays hidden behind the proxy for performance and DDoS protection.

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